The election of Mr. Trump ushered in a wave of political activism on the left, pushing millions of neophytes into the streets for protests and marches. A flood of groups formed, promising to oppose the president at every turn, return the House and Senate to Democratic control next year and protect undocumented immigrants and voting rights.
Many in this army of volunteers, however, were not thinking about this year, when two states will choose governors. But with Election Day on Nov. 7 drawing closer, the campaigns of Mr. Murphy in New Jersey and Lt. Gov. Ralph S. Northam, the Democratic candidate in Virginia, are seeing a surge in volunteers, many of them coming from anti-Trump groups.
In New Jersey, Action Together, with 18,000 members, has been coordinating its volunteers with the Murphy campaign’s effort to help Democrats up and down the ballot. NJ 11th for Change, a super PAC dedicated to unseating Representative Rodney Frelinghuysen, a Republican, has been canvassing, staffing phone banks and organizing a ground game on behalf of Mr. Murphy.
In Virginia, Let America Vote, a political action group founded by Jason Kander, a Democrat who lost a Senate race in Missouri, to defend voting rights, has coordinated its nationwide network of volunteers and activists with Mr. Northam’s campaign. They’ve dispatched more than 100 interns and have them canvassing and calling voters to support a candidate few knew anything about before joining the group.
Taehan Lee, 20, had never heard of Mr. Northam when he was stunned by Mr. Trump’s victory. Born in South Korea and having grown up in California, Mr. Lee was interested in national issues. To combat an administration he opposed, he applied for an internship with Let America Vote.
“I didn’t really ever see myself being involved in a campaign setting or working on something involved in a campaign,” Mr. Lee said. “But after last year’s election, I think a lot of us college students really want to get involved. I wanted to make a difference in politics and campaigns as soon as I could.”
Started by two former congressional aides who witnessed the rise of the Tea Party and its effectiveness at battling President Obama’s agenda, the Indivisible network began as an online guide for anti-Trump protesters on how to influence Congress.
Since then, it has mushroomed into more than 6,000 groups around the country. While many focused initially on lobbying local officials, they, too, have shifted toward the statewide efforts.